Bringing the Outside In
Favorite Resources for Connecting to the World
Things Have Shifted
My friend Don often refers to "bringing the outside in" when coaching teachers and schools to explore innovative practices, and I think that phrase can be applied to the situation in which we currently find ourselves. We are certainly living in a new day and age because of the coronavirus. Schools, restaurants, and cultural institutions are closing as part of social distancing measures and people are encouraged to stay at home.
Below is a list of potentially fun resources and activities for kids and adults that may help to bring the world into your home. I'll be adding to this from time to time. It's not meant to be all-inclusive, but rather, a selection of resources that I find valuable. The first section are resources for families and the second part are recommendations for adult learners.
If you are looking for more instructional resources, try the following :
- Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning - this is a tremendous, searchable resource started by international educators who have been teaching online for a few months now.
- Amazing Educational Resources list and Facebook group - not sure who the originator of this list is, but it's helpful.
- Online Teaching Resources - here's a Google Doc where I've made app recommendations for iPad using teachers along with plans and articles related to our current situation. Find recommended YouTube channels, virtual field trip info, and lesson planning sites in this doc.
- Guide to Using Zoom - I've written a step guide for my colleagues on how to use the Zoom video conferencing platform.
- General parenting articles curated for families at my school.
- More collections on Wakelet.
For Kids and Parents
30 Creative Activities for Kids from Apple
Audible Stories
CILC: Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration
Citizen Science Month
Challenge: Combating COVID-19
Connected North
Curiosity Machine
Technovation Families offers free design challenges for kids and many of these feature common household items. This is another find from the K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces listserv which I highly recommend to educators interested in maker education. Follow Technovation on Twitter to learn more about this organization.
Doodlematic Mobile Game Maker
Explore.org
Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants
Go Noodle
Google Arts & Culture
Hogwarts Digital Escape Room
Related: Breakout Edu is a platform for physical and digital educational escape rooms is coming out for games for home use. Sign up here to learn more.
Minifigure Madness
The Metropolitan Opera
Mo Willems Lunch Doodles & Thank You Thursdays
Visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/ to watch all of Mo's videos, find activity sheets to print out & follow along, and more!
For more drawing and read-aloud activities, check out this Fast Company article posted to Twitter by Karen Blumberg and this one from We Are Teachers posted by Bernajean Porter. Also, see 5 Online Art Challenges to Help You to Stay Creative and Connected During Coronavirus Lockdown.
Mouse Open Projects
Newberry Transcribe
Nature Activities
Outschool
Photowalks
It turns out that there is an organization, Virtual Photo Walks, that organizes photo walks for those who cannot experience the world themselves and this organization was the recipient of an innovation award from Zoom, the video conferencing platform that many schools will be using for elearning purposes. Maybe families could host a virtual photo walk as a service-learning project?
Pictionary Air
Podcasts
Pokemon Go
Service Learning Projects
Storyline Online
WildEarth.TV
Wimja
Your Local Library
Zoom Life
Create-at-home video projects for kids of all ages lead by volunteer Tour Guides who love learning and exploring.
How does it work?
- Join the launch party on Zoom.
- Create your own video over the week.
- Broadcast your video to a live audience.
Take a look at this doc for the first project. And if you join the group, you can view the kickoff meeting video here.
Why do this? - Explore your world. - Be creative. - Learn from each other.
No rubrics. No grades. No prizes. No pressure.
For Adults (and Maybe Teenagers)
Bluprint
Brainpickings
HitRecord
Netflix Party
NY Times Parenting
- What Are the Rules for Play Dates During the Coronavirus Crisis?
- Their School is Open. But the Kids are Staying Home
- Schools Are Closing for Coronavirus. Now What?